Many senior citizens in the community may soon call Bedford Care Center of Picayune their new home. Friday, employees from Bedford Care Centers spoke about the new nursing home facility, with a projected opening date in August, during the Greater Picayune Area Chamber of Commerce morning call breakfast held at the home.

Community members were able to tour the completed areas of the facility following an address from Lisa Bean, director of long-term care operations for Bedford Care Centers.

The nursing home facility in Picayune is modeled after seven other such homes the owners currently operate across central and south Mississippi.

“The households are intended to be like a home environment. The nursing station isn’t the focal point. The focal point is the living area and we want to be able to offer great living space for our seniors,” Bean said.

The nursing home in Picayune will feature a total of 60 bedrooms, half of which are private while the other half are semi-private. Future plans involve expanding the facility, which resides on 13 acres of land, including the addition of an Alzheimer’s care center, Bean said.

“We hope this will be a facility that’s welcoming and a comfortable place for people of Picayune to reside,” Bean said.

Plans to construct the center in Picayune began after Hurricane Katrina hit the Mississippi Gulf Coast in 2005. The company realized the need for a nursing home in Picayune and began making plans to establish one in the community, Bean said.

The center was recently issued a Certificate of Need, which is a document required by the state necessary for the expansion or creation of healthcare facilities. According to a press release from the Mississippi State Department of Health, the state’s Certificate of Need program allows the department to improve healthcare, increase accessibility to various services and reduce overall health and medical costs.

The total capital expenditure for the nursing home in Picayune is $6,530,500, according to the press release.

Bean said the center prides itself on its family values.

“We’re very involved in family ownership, which is very unique in our industry,” Bean said.

The healthcare company has been family owned and operated since its establishment in the 1970s following the purchase of their first nursing home in Hattiesburg. The company currently owns eight nursing homes, including Picayune’s, which provide not only housing but services such as physical therapy, recreation, nutrition and nursing and physician care, according to bedfordcarecenters.com.

The Bedford Care Center’s mission is to “honor the story, nurture the spirit and care for a lifetime,” according to their website.

The center is located at 2797 Cooper Rd. Anyone interested in finding out more about the Picayune nursing facility can call 601-799-1616 or visit http://www.bedfordcarecenters.com.